Don't fen me in

Star Tribune Wed, 09 Apr 2008 02:34:15 GMT
Savage: No more analysis for Dan Patch project

Savage won't order a full-blown environmental study, but the developer will have to conduct site surveys, the City Council decided. Neighbors in Savage may push ahead with a lawsuit opposing a subdivision now that the City Council has decided that a full-scale environmental review of the proposed Dan Patch Trail project is not needed. In a unanimous decision Monday night, the City Council said that enough study of the development's potential effects has already been done, making a full-blown analysis unnecessary. But the council will require the developer to complete biological and archaeological site surveys before the project receives any further city permits. Some criticism of the project, which would ultimately include more than 200 homes, centers on the nearby Savage Fen, a delicate wetland south of Hwy. 13 where scientists have found more than 200 plant species. Neighbors organized as the Woods & Wetlands Alliance have fought the subdivision, arguing, among other things, that effects such as runoff could harm the fen. The group filed suit last fall to force further review of the project.

[[keywords: LandUse;Living;Metro;]]